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Six Big Ten newcomers garnered Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America status by Collegiate Baseball Magazine, it was announced on Wednesday. Illinois' Adam Walton, Michigan's Brett Adcock and Carmen Benedetti, Nebraska's Ryan Boldt and Ohio State's Ronnie Dawson and Tanner Tully each garnered the honor after also earning conference All-Freshman Team honors this season. Tully was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and along with Dawson and Walton, were second-team All-Big Ten selections.

Indiana junior catcher Kyle Schwarber has been named one of three finalists for the 2014 Johnny Bench Award as announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission on Tuesday. The award is given to the top Division I catcher in the country. Schwarber is a finalist along with Mississippi's Will Allen and Kennesaw State's Max Pentecost. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All Finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 17th Annual Greater Wichita Banquet on June 26. Schwarber finished the 2014 season batting .358 with 14 home runs, 48 RBI with a slugging percentage of .659. In his final eight games for the Hoosiers (Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Regional), the Middletown, Ohio, native batted .469 (15-for-32) with four home runs, 12 RBI and slugged .938 during that stretch. He was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament team at the NCAA Bloomington Regional.

Michigan's Casey Close (1986, Baseball)A 1986 Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, Close garnered Big Ten Player of the Year accolades as a senior, capping a career that saw him guide the Wolverines to three Big Ten Championships. During his final season in Ann Arbor, he earned National Player of the Year honors by Baseball America, hitting .440 with 19 home runs and a single-season program record 72 RBI. That year, he was a first-team All-American and Academic All-American. A four year letterwinner with the Wolverines, Close was a first-team All-Big Ten standout and twice garnered Academic All-Big Ten honors.

Five Big Ten players were named Louisville Slugger All-Americans, it was announced by Collegiate Baseball this morning. Indiana's Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis were named second-team honorees, while teammates Dustin DeMuth and Joey DeNato were named third-team selections, as was Nebraska pitcher Chance Sinclair. All five will be taking part in NCAA Regional play this weekend as Indiana hosts the Bloomington Regional, while Sinclair and the Huskers travel to the Stillwater Regional. Each of the five were named first-team All-Big Ten, while Travis and DeNato were named the conference's Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

Indiana's Sam Travis was named among a group of 21 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country, USA Baseball announced on Tuesday. This season, Travis has a .342 batting average with 10 home runs and 53 RBI and led Indiana to its second straight Big Ten and Big Ten Tournament Championships. USA Baseball will announce the list of finalists for the 2014 Golden Spikes Award on June 3.

Ohio State's Mike Repasky (1994, Baseball)A 1994 Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, Repasky helped the Ohio State baseball team to three Big Ten Championships in his four seasons on campus, winning titles in 1991, 1993 and 1994. He was named the 1994 Big Ten Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, guiding the Buckeyes to their second tournament title in program history. Serving as captain as a junior and senior, he finished his career with a .346 batting average, which ranks among the program's top 25 all-time. Repasky was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and garnered Academic All-America honors in 1993.

Iowa's Brian Wujcik (1990, Baseball)As a senior in 1990, Wujcik became the first Hawkeye in a decade to win a Big Ten batting title, finishing with a .453 average and leading Iowa to the regular season title. The outfielder was named Iowa's Bob Oldis, Jr., Team Most Valuable Player, first-team All-Big Ten and collected first-team All-Region IV honors by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was also a second-team Academic All-American. Following the season, Wujcik was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Minnesota's Paul Giel (1954, Baseball/Football)A two-sport standout, Giel won the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1954 after claiming All-America accolades as both a junior and a senior. A College Football Hall of Famer, Giel played professional baseball for six seasons and also spent two years in the military during the 1956 and 1957 seasons. He still ranks second in school history in career strikeouts (243), fifth in complete games (21) and seventh in ERA (2.16). On the gridiron, Giel finished in the top three in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1952 (third) and 1953 (second) and would later become Minnesota's director of athletics from 1971-88.

Michigan State's Brandon Eckerle (2011, Baseball)As a senior in 2011, Eckerle helped guide the Spartans to their first Big Ten Championship since 1979 en route to winning the Big Ten Medal of Honor. A unanimous All-Big Ten selection, he set a single-season program record with 96 hits and was also named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Eckerle was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, named an Academic All-American as a senior and completed his career as Michigan State's all-time leader in hits (261). He became just the second player in Spartan history to win both the Big Ten Medal of Honor and the school's Chester Brewer Leadership Award.